Forecasters To Florida: Get Ready For A Grilling

June 3, 1985|By Gary Taylor of The Sentinel Staff

Most of Florida baked in a heat wave Sunday, and weather forecasters warned everyone from seasoned residents to tender-skinned tourists to brace for 90- to 100-degree temperatures over the next few days.

DeLand, Leesburg, St. Cloud, Lakeland and Cocoa reached 100 degrees Sunday as records melted across the state. Other new highs: 100 in Jacksonville; 96 in Hollywood; 94 in Miami; 93 in Fort Lauderdale; and 92 in Miami Beach.

Forecasters cautioned that temperatures and humidity in much of the state may be high enough to pose serious health hazards to people and pets.

Orlando's 97 degrees at 6:30 p.m. tied a record set in 1947. The excessively high late-afternoon temperature was caused by clouds that kept heat from dissipating, said forecaster Bill Tobin of the National Weather Service office at the Orlando International Airport.

Forecasters expect more of the same this week, with little chance of rain. ''There's nothing out there even vaguely moving in our direction,'' Tobin said.

In Central Florida, high temperatures in the mid- to high 90s will continue through at least Friday, Tobin said. Overnight lows will be in the low 70s. The low Sunday in Orlando was 70. The lowest low temperature reported in the state was 68 in DeLand.

Much of the state is under a high ''heat index'' advisory issued by the National Weather Service. The heat index combines temperature and humidity to measure its effect on the human body's ability to cool itself.

Sun strokes and heat exhaustion are possible when the heat index climbs above 110 degrees. In Orlando on Sunday, the heat index was 102, meaning that was how the temperature felt to an average person.

The weather service said the heat index in Central Florida, North Florida and parts of the Panhandle could reach 105 to 112 degrees during the next few days.

''The north is going to be the hottest part of the state,'' said Allen Cummings, a weather service forecaster at the Jacksonville International Airport, where the 100-degree reading broke a record of 98 degrees set in 1948.

The National Weather Service warned against excessive outdoor activities during daylight hours. Persons involved in physical activity or exposed for long periods of time to hot temperatures are more likely to suffer sun strokes, heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

Elderly and sick persons living where there is no air conditioning should avoid prolonged exposure to hot temperatures, the weather service warns.

Pet owners also need to take special precautions because of the hot weather.

The basic precautions are to provide plenty of water and shade, said Dr. Dwain Zagrocki of the East Orlando Animal Hospital, 7313 Lake Underhill Drive. Many problems occur with animals that are chained, he said.

''People need to remember that where the shade is in the morning is not where it's going to be in the afternoon,'' Zagrocki said.

Tourists especially need to be warned about the hot weather and its effects on pets, the vet said.

''They get excited about being

in Florida and don't think about what's going on.''

Many of their animals are used to living in the North and aren't used to the hot weather, said Zagrocki, who had just finished treating a Northern visitor's dog for heat exhaustion.

If a pet has heat exhaustion, the owner should try to cool it down, possibly by using a cold water bath, and contact a veterinarian immediately, Zagrocki said.